The memorial area
An overflow crowd attends the dedication
On 3 June 2007, the East Greenwich Library dedicated an outdoor resting spot with benches, a shade tree, and a plaque to the memory of Emma Engle, a long-lived and lifelong member of Mickleton Meeting, a librarian by profession and avocation, and host to the East Greenwich Library in her own home for 37 years.
The event has been reported in the Courier Post (article no longer online: July 2008) and the New Town Press.
Among the people invited to speak at the dedication was Daphne Peaslee Hollingshead, a relation of Emma's and a Mickleton Friend.
Daphne's words of remembrance
Daphne Hollingshead
My father was Emma's first cousin. Emma was not just a librarian, she was not just someone who allowed the Library to use a portion of her house, she was passionate about reading and about knowledge. When someone from the library knocked on the door that led to Emma's living room, she didn't consider it an intrusion or a burden, but more an invitation. Emma loved to help people find books and loved to share her knowledge.
She was a true Quaker and spoke in the old Quaker tongue. "Will I be seeing thee at Meeting?" or "How is thy family?"
Emma enjoyed a gathering, whether it was noisy 5-year-olds hitting a piñata or 20 people for Easter Dinner. She watched the events unfold and was never bored or in a hurry to leave.
As you can imagine, she read every day. Even when she went down to the Woodstown Friends Home, the staff joked that Emma would read every book in their little Library room … and then what? People who visited Emma at Woodstown were surprised to find her reading the Harry Potter series … for the second time.
When it was time for me to empty the contents of Emma's home, I came across an entire Agatha Christie set that had never been opened or read. I donated it to the Library room at Woodstown Friends Home while Emma was there. When I then visited Emma, she was reading one and said excitedly, "Someone donated a lot of these Agatha Christie books!"
I said, that was you, Emma! We both laughed.
Emma also loved people. Whenever someone stopped in for tea, Emma offered cookies that she herself had baked. She enjoyed the comic moments in life and would share a contagious chuckle during those humorous moments.
But most of all, Emma was happy. She was proud of her family, kept in touch with her friends, and enjoyed her cats who were her companions. When something needed to be done, she got it done. She was content with what she had, and never asked for more. As her neighbor, Larry Wicks, said, "She was a true Lady."
The text of the plaque
Memorial plaque and bench
LONG TIME FRIEND AND HOST OF THE EAST GREENWICH LIBRARY
Emma P. Engle shared her home with the East Greenwich Library for 37 years and in doing so ensured that our community had a library.
A book lover and avid reader, Emma was 10 years old when she came to live with her family in the house on the corner of Kings Highway and Cohawkin Road in Clarksboro.
In 1963, Emma invited the Library to move into three rooms in her 19th Century, three-story, white, clapboard house. The space became the Library's second location.
A librarian who lived to the age of 97, Emma never tired of having the library in her home and often provided advice and assistance to the staff.
“I couldn't think of a better use for such a fine, big house. I certainly didn't need all the space – and the library did,” Emma said in a 1992 Courier Post interview. “This partnership has worked out fine for both of us. I'd miss them if they weren't here.”
Emma hosted the library in her home until it moved to a larger space in 1999.
* * *
Come sit for a while …
To read, to rest, to dream, to visit
with other books lovers in our community.
Last modified: Monday, August 04, 2008 at 03:42 PM
